The present invention relates to a trap door chute for vending machines in which doors are hinged on chute walls in a certain trap door chute division and each door supports itself in its merchandise storing position by a finger on an elastic detention member. At least one vertical track extends along one chute wall, along which a carriage is movably guided, the carriage having a cam to deflect the detention member.
Additional details can be found in two copending applications entitled MECHANICAL VENDING MACHINE (filed Sept. 30, 1981, with Ser. No. 307,293) and PRICE SETTING MECHANISM FOR A VENDING MACHINE (filed Sept. 28, 1981, with Ser. No. 306,427), which are, both now allowed. These applications are related disclosures to the applicants' present invention.
Such a trap door chute is described in German Pat. No. 113,307. It is advantageous, in this trap door chute, that in order to lower the flaps they do not have to be moved against horizontally positioned springs because they interfere with the smooth and easy operation of the trap door chute and represent considerable costs. It is of disadvantage in German Pat. No. 113,307 that an energy store must be provided here to drive the carriage and that the detention members are designed as individual members.
In Austrian Pat. No. 820 a trap door chute is shown in which the trap doors are controlled by means of a stepwise unwinding flat coil spring. In one embodiment, the trap doors are provided, in the area of their bearing points, with a bevel through which the doors are kept in their merchandise storing position. While this permits their simple resetting, the arrangement is mechanically unsatisfactory because the doors only support each other by their longer lever arm. In another case, a separate, two-part detention member is provided opposite each of the bearing pins.
In Austrian Pat. No. 298 130 a trap door chute is described in which the doors are individually horizontally spring-mounted. By means of a rotatable actuating bar extending over the trap door chute height, the doors can be tripped successively in that a cam of the actuating bar moves one door each horizontally so that its finger disengages from the detention member. The actuating bar cams assigned to the individual doors are mutually spaced at distances, increasing from the bottom to the top. It is advantageous here that the more compartments that must be served, the longer the stroke of the bar will become, thus easily assuming heights not available in the usual vending machines. It is costly to mount each door to be horizontally movable on a shaft with two springs. Beyond this, resetting the doors is also complicated.
Trap door chutes in which an upward travelling carriage is provded to trip the doors, but where the doors must be moved horizontally against a spring force are also described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,916,530 and 2,623,804.